Ever-increasing numbers of anglers are trekking to
South America armed with flies and lures to target the colorful and super-aggressive
peacock bass. Drawing an explosive strike from an enraged or hungry peacock bass on fly or
plug might be one of the most exciting and challenging experiences you'll ever encounter
as a freshwater angler.

It was the late 1950's or early '60's that the
first accounts of peacock bass were told by the late Field and Stream angling editor A.J.
McClane. His text and stories described huge, hump-backed fish that had a resemblance to
largemouth bass, but were much larger and were more brightly colored. McClane referred to
those fish as pavon, a local Venezuelan name, which loosely translated to peacock in
English. Some believe that the bass moniker was either added to peacock bass by Florida
Fish and Game personnel that were involved in the early stocking programs, or perhaps an
American fishing tour operator, believing that not many "gringo" anglers would
be interested in

fishing for pavon.

In
actuality, the peacock bass is not a member of the bass family at all. It is just one of
the some 1,600 plus member of the family of fish called cichlids. There are some striking
similarities to the largemouth bass, such as basic body contour, cavernous mouth, ravenous
appetite and a strong propensity to attack prey and fishing lures with a ferocity that is
more reminiscent of much larger fish. One striking difference, immediately apparent to the
first-time peacock bass angler is that this fish is much more vividly colored in varying
shades of green, blue, orange and gold.

Peacock
bass demonstrate three qualities that make them an ideal angling target: they are
territorial; they mouth brood and they have ravenous appetites. Because they are so
territorial, it is believed that a fairly high percentage of strikes will occur just
because your lure or fly has violated their territory. Because peacock bass parents take
care of their young, they will assault a lure or fly because it is a threat to their
offspring. The fry will actually scurry into the mouths of protective parents when a
threat is present. Their ravenous appetites can best be exemplified by the vivid mental
image of 12 to 14 inch long baitfish actually beaching themselves on sandbars to escape
the onslaught of peacock bass on the feed. When one takes advantage

of what will trigger a
feeding or aggression response by peacock bass, it will increase the odds of landing more
fish.

While
the thought of traveling to the Amazon to fish for peacock bass conjures up images of
30-foot long anacondas and schools of man-eating piranhas, in actuality the Amazon is a
tranquil place, one where the jungle predators use the dense rain forrest foliage to stay
hidden and out of site. Ok, what about mosquitos? Since the areas where most of the
fishing occurs is considered a blackwater type of watershed, these conditions are
generally too acidic to support the growth of mosquitos. You are more likely to get a
mosquito bite in your backyard than you are in the Amazon.

X-TREME ANGLING, the official angling travel
service of Outdoorsite.com will be hosting trips to several peacock bass destinations in
Brazil and Venezuela and would like for you to be part of this unbelievable angling
action.

The
first of these hosted trips will depart Miami on January 3, 2000, heading for the Tapara
River Lodge in northern Brazil. Anglers will depart Wednesday evening on an overnight
jumbo-jet flight via Brazil's Varig Airlines to Manaus, the capital of Brazil's massive
Amazonas stete. As soon as firt light appears, the group will charter to the Tapara River
Lodge, an air conditioned fishing lodge situated along the shores of the river from which
it took its name. The lodge will accommodate two anglers per air conditioned room with
private baths. Anglers will be paired two to a boat with an experienced Amazon guide. A
member of the X-TREME ANGLING staff will be on hand to make sure the trips runs smoothly.
Anglers will begin fishing that afternoon.

The
schedule continues with full fishing days from January 5-9. Anglers will fish the morning
of the 10th, then charter back to Manaus where they will be escorted to the luxurious
Hotel Tropical. X-TREME ANGLING will host the dinner that evening at the famed Buffalos
Restaurant in Manaus, a unique Brazilian barbecue establishment in which an assortment of
beef, poultry and pork delicasies are carved at your table. Anglers return to the states
early the next morning on January 11th.

The
second trip will have anglers flying to Manaus on January 10th. Rather than fishing at the
Tapara River Lodge, they will be fishing at the Unini River Lodge, a fantastic virgin
peacock bass fishery that just opened to anglers this year. Anglers will be accommodated
aboard an air conditioned houseboat, with fishing boats in two. The itinerary is exactly
the same as for those going on the Tapara River Trip. Both of these operations are owned
by long-time Brazilian fishing pioneer Dr. Jan Wilt.

The
cost for each of these exciting peacock bass fishing packages is $3,500, plus airfare to
Manaus, Brazil. Our office can arrange for special airfares to Manaus from Miami. These
are all-inclusive packages, with the exception of gratuities. Space is limited to the
first 10 anglers that sign up for these trips.